-^-for posterity-^-

the seventh day of the year of the monkey and the last addition to the now world renown ‘special two week lunar new year edition’.

tet has blown through like a gigantic storm. it was a hurricane. we began to feel the effects of the celebration about three weeks ago and we will continue to feel the aftershocks until the first month of the lunar year ends. it was impossible to ignore the pure natural power of this storm.

while the storm had been brewing on the horizon for a couple of weeks, the real effects could be felt in the two days preceding the new year. those two days were full of people running home with supplies to last through the upcoming siege. men with motorcycles laden with drinks and food. women with decorations. children wheeling things down the road either on bicycles or in wagons. everyone was stockpiling and i caught the fever. the two days before tet i made sure to go to the market and buy enough supplies for me and the dog. we bought enough fruit, bread and sausages (for the dog) to last a few days of isolation.

then the storm hit.

the fireworks and the familial celebrations of the last day of the year bring in the new year, and foreshadow the storm’s arrival. prayers at the pagoda will cement good fortune for the coming year. trips to the fortune teller will guide decision making. the first few hours of the new year are eerie. they are like nothing i’ve ever seen. there is some strange communal understanding that something great and grand is happening. it’s never stated, it can just be seen in almost everyone’s eyes as they dart past you in the night on their motorcycles.

i am still shocked at the shear size of the celebrations. on the first day of the lunar new year, a town of about 250,000 people stops. the town ceases to function in any way. somehow 250,000 people all find a home to hide in, everyone shuts their doors and windows and the outside world no longer is of any importance. for a foreigner, this is incredible. over christmas, there is a similar occurrence in america, but it is much smaller in scale. we do not celebrate any one holiday as universally as tet is celebrated over here. this is the middle of what i would call the tet hurricane. everyone is bunkered down.

i was lucky enough to have made friends with people in town. i was able to experience tet from a more personal perspective. from this perspective, it feels nothing like a hurricane or a storm. from this perspective it feels like a warm time of tradition, prayer and reflection. of course it’s different for every age group and social class. the young people look forward to receiving ‘lucky money’ and the older people look forward to seeing all of their relatives under one roof again. i had a wonderful opportunity to see tet from both perspectives.

after the storm, there are three days of re-cementing old friendships and rebuilding societal relationships. in a culture where there are so many different ways of addressing another person depending on their age, social status and sex, it is important to go back through all of your old relationships and reaffirm everyone’s place. the first day is for immediate family. the second is for extended family. the third is for friends and teachers and other important people who are not directly related to you.

now, we are left with the residual effects of tet. we are left with a few more weeks of constantly saying and being told ‘happy new year.’ we are left with some traditional left-overs to eat and many people to greet. this holiday does not let up easily.

there is nothing that i can adequately compare this holiday to in america. many people celebrate thanksgiving but there are no residual effects like there are for tet. the hype before christmas is similar to the hype before tet, but christmas ends quickly and tet takes a long time to fizzle out. many americans go home for the holidays but they surely do not bunker down with their families for a long period of time playing cards and chatting for hours on end. there is a bit of commercialism in the lunar new year, but it is mostly confined to giving and receiving money. our christmas can be described as nothing short of commercialism on crack (with a side of stress).

tet is not a day, it is not a week. tet is a tradition, it is a mindset. it is a way to think about family and relationships. it is a way to understand the hierarchy of life. it is a way to make sense of everything. my two weeks writing about tet did not in any way adequately describe all there is to describe. tet is much more than anything i could ever write.

i will end this spectacular ‘special two week lunar new year edition’ with a traditional greeting for the new year in the year of the monkey:

chuc mung nam moi! chuc suc khoe! vang vo vai ky! tien vo vai ty! trong nam con khi!

happy new year! i wish you good health! may you get gold by the kilo! may you get money by the billions! all in the year of the monkey!